Kai Ryssdal interviews me on “Marketplace” tonight about the Midlife Industrial Complex and the marketing of middle age; in NYC at 6:30 pm. Tune in.
Midlife has swung between serving as an emblem of power and influence, and a metaphor for decline, yet the invention and history of this vital period of life has never before been fully told. Acclaimed New York Times reporter Patricia Cohen finally fills the gap with a book that provokes surprise, outrage and delight. In Our Prime takes readers from turn-of-the-century factories that refused to hire middle-aged men to high-tech laboratories where researchers are unraveling the secrets of the middle-aged mind and body. She traces how midlife has been depicted in film, television, advertisements, and literature. Cohen exposes the myths of the midlife crisis and empty nest syndrome, and investigates anti-aging treatments like human growth hormones, estrogen, Viagra, Botox, and plastic surgery.
Patricia Cohen 